A link road for Princes Risborough could be scrapped after Buckinghamshire Council failed to secure the funding to build it.

The authority’s Cabinet is being advised to stop pursuing the planning application for the Princes Risborough Southern Road Link (PRSRL) and end all negotiations with Network Rail.

A report to Cabinet describes the scheme as “currently stalled”, saying the council can no longer deliver the road itself.

Instead, officers expect it will now have to be built by private developers as part of future housing projects in the Princes Risborough Expansion Area (PREA).

Under the recommendations, the council would take no further steps under a 2021 Cabinet decision relating to land purchases, a Compulsory Purchase Order, or a Side Roads Order.

However, it would continue using the £1.47 million capital budget already approved for ongoing work, including maintaining assets and updating transport modelling.

The authority’s Homes England funding agreement required progress within strict milestones, but the report admits the council has been unable to raise the extra money needed to cover the full delivery cost.

As a result, it cannot proceed with compulsory land purchases or sign a construction contract.

The Princes Risborough Expansion Area, which includes plans for around 2,500 new homes, roughly five per cent of Buckinghamshire’s projected growth to 2033, was designed to include a relief road easing congestion on the A4010.

Cabinet first approved the overall expansion plans in February 2021, setting out a preferred three-phase development strategy.

The council later applied for planning permission for the first section: a 750-metre single-carriageway link road from Picts Lane to the edge of the former Sumitomo Electric Hardmetal site, featuring two railway underpasses and a signalised junction at Station Approach.

Although the application reached an advanced stage, permission was never granted.

Following a sharp rise in construction costs, a Cabinet paper in late 2021 concluded the council could not afford to deliver the project.

Work stopped in early 2023, with staff moved to other roles and months of talks ending in late 2024 when developers confirmed the road would not be built any time soon.

A planning application for the road was first submitted in July 2022, with the latest update on the council’s planning portal dated October 2023, when an extension of time until March 29, 2024 was agreed.

Plans for the road have also faced criticism from some residents, who previously warned it could become a “tempting racetrack for drivers.”

The recommendation will go before Cabinet on November 11, when members will decide whether to formally abandon the project.